Converteks



3 S heets-.Sheet 1.

(No ModeL) J. F. WILOOX.

METHOD OF OPERATING CONVERTERS.

' No. 315,582. Patented Apr. 14, 1885.

(No ModeL) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. I. WILCOX.,

METHOD OF OPERATING CONVERTERS.

No. 315,582. Patented Apr. 14, 1885.

N. PETERS. Pnowulhnnm n Washington. ac.

(No ModeL) J Q a SheetS -Sheet a. J. WILCOX.

I METHOD OF OPERATING CONVERTERS. Y

No. 315,582. v Patented Apr. 14, 1885.

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made for the same purpose; but in all cases 1. UNITED STATES PAT NT owes-A JOHN F. wiLoox, or rrrrsiaone, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR To JAMEs r. WITHEROW A D HENRY W. OLIVER, JR., or SAME PLACE.

METHOD OF OPERATING CONVERTERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 315,582, dated April 14, 1885.

Application February I, 1885. No modeLl To all whom it may concern.-

. P-ittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State converter is desirable.

of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of Operating Converters; and I do hereby declare the fol-A lowing to be a, full, clear, and exact description thereof. 1

This invention relates to the protection'of the tuyeres in Bessemer converters. The usual practice is to employ a tipping converter, so that the tuyeres can be turned up out of the metal when it is necessary to stop the blast, in order to prevent it from entering and clog ging or destroying them. The blast is kept on until the tuyeres are out of the metal, and whilethe swinging over of the converter relieves the charge from the wasting or oxidizing, influence of the excessive blast, yet during the tipping it is exposed to suchinfluence. Frequently the metal is kept in the converter for some time after the blow is finished, and there are various intervals during the operation in which the metal remains in the converter when it is desirable that it shoulll not be blown. The cost of a tipping-converter plant is excessive, and for other reasons a fixed Therefore, in the use of fixed converters for treating molten metal, which are provided with the pneumatic tuyeres arranged below the molten metal, various provisions have been made for preventing the metal from entering the tuyeres when it is desired to stop the blast. In the Olapp and Griffith converter, patented February 6,

. 1883, the tuyeres are provided with simultaneously-operated stoppers or valves having ports through them for admitting sufficient air to them from the blast-chambers to prevent the molten metal from chilling in them. Various a separate valve'or stopper has been required at each tuyere, "5, W

Broadly stated, my invention. consists in keeping the tuyeres clear by maintaining a sufficient minimum pressure in the tuyeres while the metal .is 'notunder blowtocounte'r balance the pressureofAthe metal in the con verter. The column ofmetal in the ordinary converter is from twelve to fifteen inches deep, and the blast-pressure varies from twelve to twenty-five pounds to the square inch. In converters having side tuyeres the pressure runs from five pounds upward, according to the location of the tuyeres when the blast is on. In the ordinary converter a pressure of from five to six pounds per square inch is nec- A cssary to overcome the head of the liquid column of metal.

In carrying this invention into practice, I preferably provide the lower or removable part of the converter with a blast-trunk connecting with all the tuyeres, said trunk having a single detachable connection with the blast-pipe which conducts the blast from the engine; Thus it is necessary to disconnect only one joint when the bottom is removed for renewal or repairs. Another advantage is, that the converter is entirely clear of the valves and their operating appliances, these devices I being wholly dispensed with. c

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now describe it in connection with a fixed converter by reference to the accompanying two sheets of draw? ings, in whicln-- A l A Figure l is an elevation, partly in section, of a converter; and Figs. 1, 1", and 1 are details. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 00 m of Fig. 1. Figs. 3, 4: and 5 are views of modified forms of the controlling-valve Fig. 6 illustrates the construction of the collar by which the tuyeres are secured in the converter. Figs. 7, 8, and 9 illustrate the construction of the tuyereentering doors.

, Like letters of reference indicate like parts. The upper or stationary part, a, of the converter is supported by suitable columns, a, and is provided with lugs or projections of, for the attachment of the lower section or bottom, 1). The bottom I) is provided with a ciI'A- cular blast-pipe, c, which is attached to the. j

metallic shell b, and at suitable intervals is provided with doors 0, through which the tuyeres are inspected and kept in order.

In order to make a tight joint at the doors, I provide them with headed stemsc and mount them on the hinged straps c sothat thestems may be turned radially in thestraps. ,On the,

rod

edges of thedoors are two or more lugs, e, which,when the doors are rotated, turn under A In order to obtain a tight joint and'a firmer setting of the tuyeres f, I insert them through flanged metallic sleeves or collars g,which are fastened to the shell of the converter b'y'bolts through the flanges g, a suitable packing being interposed between the flanges and shell.

The inner surface of the collars is grooved, and when the tuyeres are inserted they arethickly daubed with plastic clay or cement, which, when they-come to place, entersthe grooves and makes a tight joint. Thelowe'r or bottom section, b, is provided with pivoted hooks or loops b by which it is suspended on thelugs a said links being secured bykeys 12 The main blast-pipe his connected to the circular blast-trunk c on the converter by means of pipes i and 7c, the pipe'k being pivoted to the pipe 12, as at and to the pipe 6, as at 70 The trunk c has a concave or'fdish-- shaped seat, Z, "around the opening Z, bywhieh the air is admitted thereto, and the connecting end of the pipe i is convex, as at z", so as toflt closely inside of the seat. The delivery end of the pipe '6 is connected to the converter by' means of the pivoted straps or hooks P, which are secured in place by keys 6 passing through or back of securing-lugs i on the sides of the pipe '5. This construction permits of slight variations of position between the parts Z and i without dislocation or destroying the tightness of the joint, and the con'struction of the connecting-pipes z and It allows for vai-ia-f tions of position of the lower' section of the converter, such as are liable to occur in changing or inserting a new bottom.

It is almost invariably the case that when the bottom is'changed it will-not come exactly to the same position as occupied by it before the change. 'The pipes i and 7c are counterbalanced by the weight m, secured to the le-' ver'm back of the joint 70. f

Arranged in the pipe h, between the blast-' engin'eand the converter, is a valve,-n,"ha'ving a'lever, n, attached 'to its axle,' andoperating in connection with a segmental rack, n fupon which there is a stop, if, capableof beingadjusted to any desired position. The purpose of this valve is to control the blast supplied to the tuyeres of the converter. The capacity of the pipe his such thatwhen' the valve n is fully opened the maximum pressure of the blast for treating the metal in the converter is obtained, and the stop n-isarrangedat a point that will permit the closing of the valve n sufficiently to admit the requisite pressure of blast to sustain the column of metal above the mouths of the tuyeres, soas tain.

to prevent the molten metal from entering and clogging up or destroying the tuyeres.

The operations practiced in the converter as used by me require a maximum pressure of about seven pounds, and the charge is such as usually requires a pressure of about three pounds to sustain the column of metalat the mouths of thetuyeres. The stop if is therefore arranged at theproper point to reduce the pressure of the blast at the tuyeres to three pounds, so that when the active treatment of the metal is not desired the lever a is turned until it comes in contact with the stop,whereby the valve is'brou'ght to the position shown in Fig. 1, and the blast-pressure is reduced to the amount stated. The same result may be accomplished in other ways, as indicated in Figs. 8, 4L, and 5. v v

InFig. 3 the valve n is capable 'offclosihg completely, as it is provided with openings a the area of which is sufficient to supply the requisite amount of blast to obtain the minimum pressure at the tuyeres when the valve itself is closed. y

In Fig. 4 thepipe his provided with a bypass, h, extending around thevalve n, which in this case is solid, and capableof being closed entirely, as shown. Thefcap'a'city of the pipe h is suflicie'nt' to supply the minimum pressure at the mouths of the'tu'y'e'res. Preferably the 'pipe h is provide d with a valve, h ,"for

' closing it, if desired.

In Fig. 5 the pipeh is provided with a lateral branch or opening, 0, in'which thereis a reliefvalve, 0, which is coupledto valve'n by the lever 0 pivoted link or 'rod 0 and 'levero,

(shown by broken lines,) so thatas the valve n is closed the valve "0 will be opened suflicientlyto permit the amount of blast, which is thereby prevented from passing the valve "n,to escape'bythe branch 0, whereby the 'pressure'atthe tuyeres will be reduced correspondingly. "The metal tap is-shown at 1), Fig.1, and the'cinder-notch atq,Fig. 2.

'My' invention enables one to simplify and cheapen the construction'and use of theconverterffacilitate repairs and the changing of the bottom, 'e'fle'ct a saving'of time and 'labor in changing the bottom, and render the'operation of the converter more efficient and cer- 'While I have particularly described the practice of my inVentiOnwith-afixedconverter havingside tuyeres, I do not limit niys'elf thereto, as it can also be practiced in movable'cdnverters and in converters having bottomtuyeres. 'In all cases theminimum pressure of the blast must besufficient to counterbalance the ferro-static pressure at the tuyeres. By keeping the tuyeres clear I mean preventing the metal from entering-'and'chi'lling therein, and by under blow I mean the time of active treatment or conversion bythe blast.

The appliances herein described form the matter of a separate application for Letters Patent.

i What I claim as my invention, and desire of metal in the converter, substantiallyas and to secure by Letters Patent, isfor the purposes described. 10

In operating a Bessemer converter, the vIn testimony whereof I have hereunto set method of keeping the tuyeres clear of metal, my hand this 4th day of February, A. D. 1885. p

5 which consists in maintainingasufficient mini- JOHN F. WILCOX.

mum pressure in the blast-pipe and tuyeres Witnesses: during the time the metal is not under blow, W. B. CORWIN,

to counterbalance the pressure of the column THOMAS E. KERR. 

